Thanks to commenter SiubhanDuinne, here’s Peter’s obituary:
ROSS, Peter F. Age 73, of Cumberland, RI, formerly of Belmont, MA, and Brookline, MA, passed away March 25. He was, for nearly 20 years, a well-known voice to Boston as an announcer for classical radio station WCRB before beginning his second career working with Fidelity Investments in 1995, where he remained until retiring in 2015. He was a dedicated musician, staying enmeshed in Boston’s classical and amateur music communities after leaving the air, serving as concert announcer for several community bands and at the annual Boston Festival of Bands held each June at Faneuil Hall. He was particularly involved with the Metropolitan Wind Symphony, where he performed as concert announcer for more than 20 years and also served as a member of the board. He was a 1963 graduate of Brookline High School and 1968 graduate of Boston University. He is survived by his brother; his wife Marilyn; his daughter Katherine, son-in-law Matthew, and beloved grandchildren Miranda and Ethan, to whom he was utterly devoted and by whom he was utterly smitten. A Memorial Reception will be held in April. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Metropolitan Wind Symphony, the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, or any local music education program in your community that serves to teach and inspire the next generation of musicians.
Also, while I know a lot of folks are concerned that something seems to have happened to his comments, when I do a keyword search at the comments tab in the dashboard, they’re all still in there. So this is probably one of the joys of WP. Just know they’re not gone. We now know there is a problem. And I’ll make sure Cole and Alain know so we can ensure they don’t go poof.
Fuckem!
Open thread!
celticdragonchick
My God.
Sympathy and love to his family and friends.
Adam L Silverman
I’m going to the gym!
Also: fuckem.
satby
Only 73. ?
John Cole
I feel as if the greatest tribute I could make is to stomp on this post with an open thread, but I shall not. I wish he were still here.
Another Scott
As I posted downstairs, the thread where Davis X Machina discusses what a great radio host EFG was can be found here on The Wayback Machine:
http://web.archive.org/web/20100706081621/https://balloon-juice.com/2010/07/04/america-the-beautiful/
HTH.
Cheers,
Scott.
rikyrah
Thanks for this.
Prayers for his family.
Gone too soon :(
Warren Terra
@satby: @satby: Yeah, the way he talked about himself I thought he was so much older than that.
A sad loss. He touched so many.
R-Jud
I’m very grateful to this place that I got to know him and interact with him a little, even in Internet-mediated format. I’m so sorry for his family’s loss.
Brachiator
Very touching. Thanks for putting this up.
JPL
@John Cole: We all do. What a wonderful tribute to such a great man who will always be remembered by our fuckems. Thank you EFG for posting and bringing us such joy.
piratedan
dunno how feasible it may be, but perhaps the blog can have an “in memorium” section and in the rebuild perhaps a link to some of our fellow commenters like efg and schlemazel and captain stuck. We could archive some of their commentary and it would allow us to visit and remember them
eclare
RIP, efgoldman. You will be missed by many.
scav
And I so love now hearing “Fuckem!” in a classical FM voice.
SiubhanDuinne
@piratedan:
And greennotGreen.
NotoriousJRT
A life well lived though too short. RIP, EFG.
HypersphericalCow
It makes me smile that an announcer for classical music, when he got off the air, commented like a sailor. He will be missed.
gene108
Big loss for everyone, who knew him, either in real life or on the internet. RIP! And condolences for his family.
JPL
@Another Scott: That was the best read ever. Stuck and EFG together, and thank you so much for the link.
Steve in the ATL
@piratedan: that’s a nice thought, but I can’t even keep up with current threads
Steve in the IND after a harrowing time in the Columbus/Edinburgh Metroplex
schrodingers_cat
RIP Mr. Ross. We were discussing a possible meetup before he fell sick. Alas, it will never happen now.
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: Greennotgreen shared something special with us that not many will, and for that I’ll be forever grateful.
schrodingers_cat
@piratedan: Good idea!
JPL
@Steve in the ATL: Did the old white guys mug you?
Ohio Mom
@Another Scott: Thanks for the link, it was a wonderful walk down memory lane.
Ah, the halcyon days of the summer of 2010 when instead of documenting the dismantling of our democracy, we had attention for such weighty matters as “What should be done about our un-singable national anthem”…sigh.
MomSense
Thank you to Adam and Subaru Diane for connecting us with his family and this remembrance of his life.
I miss him.
Fuck em.
FlyingToaster
@Steve in the ATL: Columbus Indiana is many things, but none of them is a “Metroplex”.
[I spent a century or so in Bloomington, over the course of 8 years]
eemom
@piratedan:
General Stuck. I miss him a lot.
satby
@Another Scott: I remembered that thread once I started reading, what a lovely trip down memory lane, when Stuck was with us too. I clicked on his name and read a bit of his old blog too, with Charlie at pride of place at the top.
The circle of life.
TaMara (HFG)
In my mind, I had always hoped I’d have a trip to Boston that was long enough to meet him and other jackals. RIP. You will be missed.
Elizabelle
I love that his station’s call letters were WCRB.
W-Crab. It is so perfect. (Although PRoss aka efg just played one in online life.)
zhena gogolia
@piratedan:
General, not Captain!
I miss efg terribly.
satby
@TaMara (HFG):
me too.
Tom Levenson
Peter was an all round good guy.
Fuckem. (W. affection)
Too many people I care about, family, friends, and voices in my various communities, have gone lately.
Feh
Gin & Tonic
@Elizabelle: Charles River Broadcasting.
jeffreyw
@piratedan: I think the best sort of In Memoriam features are those that begin “I miss …” that are followed by an anecdote or two. Good for the still living and long absent. Death not required!
zhena gogolia
@Another Scott:
Thank you for that. Lots of nyms on there we haven’t seen in a while, like Warren Terra. This is the key comment by Davis X. Machina:
Magical BJ!
K488
I mostly lurk here, but had picked up that efg had been a broadcaster of classical music in the Boston are. Now I realize that I had heard him frequently on WCRB back in the ’70’s and ’80’s. He’d recognized the significance of my nym. I shall miss his commentary.
trollhattan
@scav:
“That was the third movement from the “Fuckem Suite” by Berlioz, performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Seiji Ozawa.”
I like the notion of having heard that some soft Saturday afternoon.
Carry on EFG-Peter, your voice emanates away from the planet at the speed of light, just needing a clever listener to tune in. Who knows?
opiejeanne
@jeffreyw: On that note, I miss Baud.
trollhattan
@K488:
Mozart?
Steve in the ATL
@JPL: I saw a black guy there! J/k. It was strictly racist old white people.
@FlyingToaster: would “shithole” work?
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Steve in the ATL: Props for best ironic use of Metroplex all month.
EthylEster
@K488:
And now the goggle has let me recognize the significance of HIS nym.
jeffreyw
K488
banditqueen
His music will play on–peace and blessings to all.
Ohio Mom
@opiejeanne: Where did Baud go?
Ruckus
@HypersphericalCow:
I used to work for a subsidiary of a non profit and knew the CEO for nearly 20 yrs and had never heard him swear once. Went to work there, first week needed to discuss something with him, sitting in his office, I found out he had two voices. His normal one, in which he spoke like a sailor, iow I understood every word, and his public voice in which he never used any swear words. EFG reminds me of this man, or vice versa if you will. He did teach me how to separate the two voices so that I could speak, say on TV and or in a public speaking manner. It is a skill that takes effort to learn.
B.B.A.
@scav: @trollhattan: As a sometimes WQXR listener myself, I can only imagine what the smooth-n-smarmy voices introducing my Mozart are like when the “on air” light goes out. On the other hand, as a fellow finance industry drone, I can say that EFG cussed here a lot less than the norm for his later field of employment.
My favorite classical FM line: “Some people call the viola a big violin, but that is not the case. Rather, it is the violin that is the small viola.”
JPL
@Ohio Mom: Walkabout or vacation. We were forewarned.
Steeplejack
@Steve in the ATL:
I think cacaplex is the technical term.
MomSense
This may not be the right thread, but has anyone seen Yarrow?
piratedan
ty for the corrections and i like jeffreyw’s tweak on the concept
Mr Stagger Lee
I thank him for his contributions in classical music. It is a blessing to have an classical station in a community, I donate to one. My Condolences to his family and friends.
Nicole
What a lovely tribute, and how lovely to request people make contributions to bring up the next generation of musicians. I will really miss his comments.
debbie
I never closed the tab and they’re all still there.
ETA: It may seem Stone Ageish, but I was thinking about making a pdf of the page.
ETAETA: Lovely obit. I think I may have heard his voice; I was living in Boston way back then.
Steve in the ATL
@MomSense: no, but my confidential sources tell me that he is taking care of his father and uncle right now and this too busy for our nonsense.
Odie Hugh Manatee
In reading Peter’s obituary I am left with the impression that with as much that is listed as highlights of his life, this barely scratches the top of who he was and the positive influences he had in touching the lives of others as he passed through his own life.
Rest in peace, efg/Peter Ross, we’ll keep the fuck em’s up and running for you.
My condolences and positive thoughts to Marilyn and Peter’s family and friends.
Steve in the ATL
@Steeplejack: but there’s an outlet mall! And a salad bar-free Applebee’s!
Nelle
I would really like to hear his voice but so far, the google hasn’t turned up any audio of his programs. If anyone can link to anything, I would appreciate it.
Ohio Mom
@JPL: Thanks. That’s good manners of Baud, to let us know he’s taking off. Hope he is enjoying himself.
Steve in the ATL
@Steeplejack: speaking of caca, the collective wine list of all restaurants in the Indianapolis airport….
debbie
@Ohio Mom:
Bet he’s off on spring break.
A Ghost To Most
Imagine the dust-ups in BJ Valhalla.
Ruckus
EFG will be missed, already is.
Hope his wife and family are OK.
I like that his daughter came here to let us know about him a bit more.
Those of us who don’t use our real names online often have multiple lives that we don’t want to intermingle for one reason or another, that’s why I did when I first started.
@John Cole:
That sounds about right.
Fuckem.
MomSense
@Steve in the ATL:
Ok thanks
West of the Rockies
@Warren Terra:
I also supposed EF was older; I’d have guessed 80-something. Who is the oldest? Is it the big man himself, JC?
Just kidding.
Adam L Silverman
@MomSense: I’ve got an email in. He’s been taking care of both his dad and his uncle, so he’s a wee bit busy.
trollhattan
@Ohio Mom: @debbie:
I’m picturing him appearing, Zelig-like, at everybody’s campaign rallies, on stage ten feet to the right. After four or five such appearances the media notice and begin Twittering about the “mysterious Democratic Party staffer who seems to be everywhere at once.”
We all know free media is key to a successful campaign.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Steve in the ATL:
is perhaps not as good as the list in some Blue Ash cafes?
Another Scott
ArtFuse:
(Emphasis added.)
Steve in the ATL
@MomSense: (Adam posted that on an earlier thread—I have no sources)
opiejeanne
@Odie Hugh Manatee: You’ve said most of what I was going to say about our efGoldman. I remember when his daughter was on Jeopardy (we watched) and later how she was dissed by Chris Christie for not knowing something or other about his fine state. I don’t remember exactly what Peter said, but I’m sure “fuckem” was the sign-off comment.
condolences to his wife and family.
West of the Rockies
@trollhattan:
Did you announce for a time, trollhatten? I did for an NPR affiliate in the mid-80’s. Great work, paid badly.
Steve in the ATL
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: dude, I would kill Donald trump’s firstborn for the house wine from the Brown Dog. They do a bang up job. Unlike, say, [insert name of literally any restaurant in Indiana]
Steeplejack
@Steve in the ATL:
Somehow that comes as no surprise. I bet you’re looking forward to a hearty glass of Chateau Delta.
Steve in the ATL
@West of the Rockies:
Paging Subaru Diane on the white courtesy phone…
?BillinGlendaleCA
@piratedan:
That’s General Stuck to you.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
I knew immediately where I want to send my memorial donation, and found the link to the donation page: Lonely Instruments for Needy Kids.
Another Scott
ConcordBand (from 1996):
Record breaking! :-)
RIP, EFG/Peter. We’ll remember you.
Best wishes to his family and all who loved him.
Cheers,
Scott.
Steve in the ATL
@Steeplejack: mmm…red blend. Tried to get on an earlier flight, but they were all overbooked. Why is there such a crowd flying from Indianapolis to Atlanta today? The only good part is that I still have my upgrade on the later flight. Three extra hours in IND in exchange for 90 minutes in first class? Yeah, I got the short end of that one.
Steve in the ATL
@?BillinGlendaleCA: @eemom: @zhena gogolia: piratedan has been posting here so long that he remembers stuck before the promotions. I’m a management-side labor lawyer yet I’m the only one here who respects seniority? For shame!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@opiejeanne:
The question was asking who the three Governors of adjoining states began with the letter ‘C’, Kate missed Christie. The Joisy Whale got on the radio and called her a moron. I saw the replay on ‘Joe of the Morning’, efg was not amused.
piratedan
@Steve in the ATL: ty Steve but I simply screwed up the handle, but I imagine that I’ll see more pile on before the end of the thread. Still, I like the idea of a In Memorium place where people who have made an impression on the jackaltariat have a place, mea culpa on GS and forgetting Greennotgreen, but that’s why I think that perhaps someplace like that would allow us to ensure that they endure just not in our hearts, but that’s just me. No idea on if its even doable…
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steve in the ATL: Yeah, that thought occurred to me. I’ve only been here for 9 years(being a refugee from the health care wars at The Great Orange Satan*).
*IIRC, Baud is a fellow refugee.
JPL
@?BillinGlendaleCA: He’s such a large figure and asshole who could forget him. I jest. Christie is the moron.
Haydnseek
Isn’t it wonderful that we can care so much for someone who we know only through our shared online presence? I would go on, but there seems to be something in my eye……..
opiejeanne
@?BillinGlendaleCA: That’s it! I forgot that it was Christie who was the forgotten answer.
eemom
@Steeplejack:
I’ve been thinking back to when General Stuck disappeared, you and I set out to find out what happened and finally did (by means I can’t recall), and we got a whole lot of shit for it from Corner Stone and Fuckhead and their ilks. Then some time later Stuck’s sister (or was it niece?) appeared and told us she’d read the RIP thread to Stuck’s elderly Dad and it was a great comfort to him.
I think there was a pastor involved as well….
MomSense
@Tom Levenson:
Same here. It’s hard.
A Ghost To Most
@eemom: Right about the time of Tunch’s untimely departure, as I recall.
Steve in the ATL
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Cuomo, Christie, and…no idea who was governor of Connecticut. But Katie Cox knew!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@JPL: He’s a
floor wax and a dessert toppinglarge figure and a moron.?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steve in the ATL: Casey in PA.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@A Ghost To Most: It was the same day,
Gin & Tonic
@Steve in the ATL: There hasn’t been a Connecticut governor whose name started with “C” since Wilbur Cross in the 1930’s (namesake of the Wilbur Cross Parkway.)
eemom
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
This month marks my 10th anniversary! I remember cuz I had back surgery in June of that ancient 2009. And my kids were still kids! ?
I was a FDL refugee, as were also Raven and Redshift (who turned out to be my college classmate!).
? It’s a small internet after all….?
Last but not least: Cole was mean to me the first time I commented. I knew right then I was destined for this place.
Gin & Tonic
@eemom: You probably deserved it.
trollhattan
@West of the Rockies:
Guilty;-)
College station, NPR affiliate. Sometimes just running the booth, doing station IDs every 30 and transmitter readings every three hours (“Hi, Susan Stamberg wherever you are”), sometimes announcing jazz and classical, but the hook was driving dad’s car at night with a self-programmed rock shift. We of course were all snooty in that special college kid way of never playing anything popular. “Hey kids, how does an hour of nothing but Can sound? Trick question, you’re about to find out.”
Watching broadcasting dissolve before my eyes in the ’80s and 90s was very painful, because for a time it was both vital and a legitimate career path.
eemom
@?BillinGlendaleCA: @A Ghost To Most:
Yes, it was. That was a horrible day.
eemom
@Gin & Tonic:
Nah, I was all wide eyed and innocent then.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Gin & Tonic: New Jersey and Connecticut don’t share a border either, Kate got the Dem Governors but missed the rather large Rep. I gave efg a bit a of shit about Christie being hard to miss just based on size alone.
Mary G
You can contribute to the Metropolitan Winds by PayPal at metwinds.org or
If you prefer to contribute by check, please make the check payable to MetWinds and mail it to us at 62 Mossdale Road, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130.
debbie
@eemom:
I was still lurking, but was totally drained and dispirited by the end of the day by everything that had happened.
SiubhanDuinne
@West of the Rockies:
I’m three years older than EFG (will be 77 in August) and for a while thought I was the oldest regular commenter here. But now I think there are a few others who have at least a year or two on me. Can’t recall at the moment who they are.
Steve in the ATL
@trollhattan:
How dare you denigrate my late eighties show on my college radio station. I demand satisfaction!
MazeDancer
EFG’s pics looked exactly like I had imagined. Okay, was picturing wilder hair, but otherwise pleasantly not surprised.
Missed he is, missed he will contnue to be.
73 is not only too young, also not at the upper end of BJ commetariat. Starting to worry about losing others.
But no inviting trouble. Just celebrate each other as we can. And appreciate that pixels are forever.
Gin & Tonic
@eemom: Pull the other one.
Steve in the ATL
@SiubhanDuinne:
[obvious dementia joke]
Gin & Tonic
@trollhattan: My son did a turn as a DJ at a college radio station in about 2005-06. Don’t know if they’re still broadcasting.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@opiejeanne: Too often I struggle to find the ‘right words’ to say when someone has passed. I will start something and back up because it seems so inadequate, over and over again. Not this time.
SiubhanDuinne
@West of the Rockies:
I was a classical music announcer/producer/music director for NPR affiliates for eleven+ years in the 1970s-early ’80s. You’re right, the pay sucked, but they were wonderful times.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steve in the ATL: Get off my lawn or I’ll thow my onion at ya…(damn kids these days).
SiubhanDuinne
@Steve in the ATL:
Heh! I responded before I saw your comment!
Mike in NC
RIP, Mr. efg
SiubhanDuinne
@Steve in the ATL:
I figured someone would go there. Was thinking of doing it myself as a preëmptive strike, and then thought, Nah, why deprive Steve in the OMG of the pleasure?
CaseyL
@SiubhanDuinne: That’s good to know, because I like hanging out in places where I’m one of the youngsters. Such venues are getting hard to find :)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@SiubhanDuinne:
He’s in Namibia*? I thought he was in Indiana.
*Omega Airport (IATA: OMG, ICAO: FYOE) is a former military airport serving the village of Omega in the Kavango East Region of Namibia.
Steve in the ATL
@?BillinGlendaleCA: no bullshit: I know a woman named Omega, and she has a twin brother named Alpha.
jeffreyw
@SiubhanDuinne:
Older than you? I bet they have a hard time remembering, too!
///
I’m just a pup, not even 70 yet, but hoping to see it. You give me hope.
jeffreyw
@Steve in the ATL: Damn you, Steve!
Steve in the ATL
@jeffreyw: did I do something? I can’t remember.
Ben Cisco
My condolences to the family, including the jackalteriat. There’s been so much loss in the last few years. So much pain. Very depressing.
frosty
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I am also a GOS refugee, Got my start reading blogs in early 2005, found this place ~2010.
efg had one hell of a bio masked by curmudgeonly fuckems. I’ll miss him.
Gelfling 545
Such a loss to his family and to this community. This place won’t be the same without him.
Steeplejack
@Steve in the ATL:
When I lived in Atlanta and flew in and out of there a lot, it finally dawned on me that people like your Indianapolis crowd aren’t necessarily flying to Atlanta, they’re flying through Atlanta to get someplace else. Who knows? Maybe there’s a barbecue festival in Birmingham or something.
Gammyjill
I came here after Steve Gillard died. Also found Raw Story, Political Wire, and Kevin Drum. The one thing I regret was that Gillard didn’t live to see Obama elected.
Aleta
EFG would despise this song and probably the singer and definitely the style:
Done Too Soon
gwangung
Well, crap.
That’s all I can say.
West of the Rockies
@trollhattan:
I started out as a Telecommunications major until I realized many of the people that field drew were shallow and full of themselves. I switched (tragically) to English Lit.
West of the Rockies
@SiubhanDuinne:
Well, keep on keeping on! You’re one of my favs!
raven
T Rex was also the classical music DJ at the Georgia Public Broadcasting station here in Athens.
raven
@jeffreyw: So you and I are the same age.
SiubhanDuinne
@raven:
How are the pups? And did the bride arrive safely?
SiubhanDuinne
@West of the Rockies:
I intend to, thanks! Although I doubt I’ll be jumping out of any more perfectly innocent planes :-) BTDT.
Oh wow, thank you very much.
raven
@SiubhanDuinne: Yea, hopefully she’s getting some sleep because it was a rough trip as far as time. It turns out Bohdi has had the lump on his leg for some time and needs no further treatment. Lil Bit has to wait until the 11th to get an ultrasound that will show an enlarged heat and then maybe some meds will help.
thanks
West of the Rockies
I found BJ in about ‘7 (seeking solace from the GWB administration… Funny, what seemed unutterably dreadful now, in light of Lump, seems almost benign). I lurked for a time, and then finally got brave.
SiubhanDuinne
@raven:
You know, one of these days I’m going to get my ass in gear very early in the a.m. and just show up at the bakery to greet you and the furries.
Glad the princess touched down safely. Hope she adjusts to time change/jet lag/long layover in record time. London is such a great city, and I hope she enjoys every minute.
Ruckus
@Steeplejack:
I was such a regular on the 8am flight from Columbus OH to Hartsfield to catch a flight to somewhere else that some of the flight attendants would recognize me. Columbus is like a lot of places, you can’t fly from there to most any where else non stop and without transfer.
raven
@SiubhanDuinne: Since we are on a 7-7:20 schedule you better check ahead! It will be interesting to see what we so when I retire.
Ruckus
@raven:
I think there are a bunch of us the same age or within a year on here. Hell they named a football team after us, the 49ers.
ETA and BTW I’m paying my VA bill and got a notice with it that the VA is no longer processing our payments, US Bank is doing that. So someone is getting a cut of this. There’s really no reason for doing this otherwise.
Mai Naem mobile
RIP Mr. Ross/egg. 73 is way too young. Condolences to his family. This is just really sad.
A Ghost To Most
@eemom: Some good came from that. I went out to the shelter that Monday, and brought home my 18 lb short-haired Steve Doppelganger. Maple is a great cat, except for waking me up extra early. I rarely miss the beginning of Moaning Joe, at 4:00 AM in these parts.
Bex
Whatever happened to Violet?
raven
@Ruckus: Or a sexual position!
West of the Rockies
@Bex:
Oh, you’re right; she’s been absent for a time. Redshirt never returned after Das Clump got elected.
SiubhanDuinne
I think EFG commented at Ed’s Gin and Tacos place. Rarely go there any longer, and I don’t believe I’ve ever commented there, but I’m thinking that the G&T commentariat might want to know about his passing. Anybody?
West of the Rockies
@raven:
A ketchup in my case.
Steeplejack
@eemom:
That was a strange interlude, from May to July 2013.
Here’s the post that started the “formal” search for Stuck: “Gen. Stuck Update.” (Category: “Site Maintenance.”)
More from the next day. This is where Corner Stone and Just Some Fuckhead got really worked up in their tag-team routine.
Then the (belated) news of Stuck’s death in July.
(cont.)
Steeplejack
@Steeplejack:
Then Cole’s “Stuck Update.” CS and JSF continuing in raging-asshole mode. I still don’t know what triggered them so much. Maybe the idea that people on a blog could care about those people in real life.
Finally, on July 13, “RIP, General Stuck.”
And then that evening came the terrible news of Tunch’s death: “RIP, Tunch, the Best Cat Ever.” There were 1,036 comments on that thread.
This blog has a lot of history.
frosty
@Steeplejack:
Back in rhe railroad era the line was “I don’t know if I’m going to heaven or hell but I know I have to change in Atlanta.”
Times haven’t changed.
raven
@frosty: The orignal name was Terminus.
SiubhanDuinne
@Bex:
Whatever happened to Muddy?
Also, and I’m almost afraid to ask this, whatever became of Arguing with Signposts?
And there was a commenter with a nym something like Finely Ground Black People (after that awful cookbook typo). Whatever happened to her/him?
Also, I miss SIA/ScreamingInAtlanta. Haven’t seen her in years — for sure since before I retired in 2013.
Too many people just up and disappearing :-(
SiubhanDuinne
@raven:
Better name than Marthasville.
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
* Checks the records *
Grandpa John was born in 1937. Ladyraxterinok was born in 1940. And I think Gammyjill (?) might be about your age.
polyorchnid octopunch
@piratedan: I am down with this.
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack:
I was at a bar, saw that headline, and burst into noisy tears, causing great consternation amongst my friends.
It’s hard to explain that you’re sobbing because a cat you’ve never met, the beloved companion of a person you’ve never met, has perished cruelly and suddenly.
Don’t even start me on Walter.
schrodingers_cat
@SiubhanDuinne: Isn’t SIA, raven?
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack:
Thank you! That all sounds about right.
TerryC
@SiubhanDuinne: I, too, was struck by sorrow ?
chopper
@Steeplejack:
it’s the internet. some people take it very, very seriously. and they hold grudges and act like assholes.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Steeplejack:
It last you have started with the pins and string like Adam.
SiubhanDuinne
@schrodingers_cat:
Nope. SIA (female) is a very gifted interior designer who lives (or lived) in Decatur. For the life of me I can’t remember her real-life name, although I knew it well about 7-8 years ago. Am so sorry she and I were never able to get together.
A Ghost To Most
@Steeplejack: Remember Brick Oven Bill? That dude was psycho.
Steeplejack
@Steeplejack:
Dagnab it, screwed up those last two links.
“RIP, General Stuck.”
“RIP, Tunch, the Best Cat Ever.”
SiubhanDuinne
@TerryC:
It was a terrible day.
SiubhanDuinne
@A Ghost To Most:
Oh man, I was just thinking of BOB a couple of days ago. But, pace Beetlejuice, I feared to invoke his name.
Tim C.
@SiubhanDuinne: Walter’s story makes me cry… both for the cruelty he endured and the fact John Cole basically became the avatar of the god of crusty, curmudgeonly, misanthropic angels through his actions that day. As for efgoldman, may he rest in the light; may his family and friends find peace; and hopefully the universe is kinder than I imagine and Tunch rubs against his leg in the place where the jackals go.
Side note: if there’s a real afterlife I want to go where the jackals go.
Steeplejack
@Steeplejack:
Jeez, (slightly) screwed up the very first one, too. Corrected.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@schrodingers_cat: Raven was ‘Stuck in Red’.
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack:
As sad and awful and shocking and horrible as that day was for us … how much more terrible must it have been for John?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@SiubhanDuinne: I wonder if we can get Baud to come back that way.
Baud, Baud, Baud.
SiubhanDuinne
@Tim C.:
Come sit by me.
Steeplejack
@A Ghost To Most:
Yes, he was a character. Bookended by Matoko-chan. Oh, and that made me think of mclaren.
polyorchnid octopunch
Locally, I’m very well known as a public asshole… in particular, a public music asshole. I’ll happily blat the shit out of whatever show is going on that night, and I’m fortunate enough to live in a small city (~120K) that has a lot of whatever show is going on. EFG’s dying wish is … interesting to me. Since my old friend Joe (a bass player I played in a number of bands with) around twenty years ago or so) died back in ’99, we here in Krusty the K-town (i.e. Kingston, Ontario) have had a musical instrument lending library that was set up in Joe’s honour (and you’d better believe that word is “honour” mfers). You can find it online at joesmill.org, and I’d like to recommend all of you to check it out. I’ve been donating time and money to that place for a lot of years; Joe was an old friend of mine, we lived in the same house for many years and played in quite a few bands together. As a charity concept to drive music education, it’s a really good one… and one of the basic precepts is that if you’re not actually around Krusty the K-town you’ll do fare better to set one up in your community than give money to us.
Just sayin’ that I think Mr. EFG would’ve really liked it, and that it’s worth investigating for you poor motherfuckers who have to live south of the border.
Cheers,
The Last Asshole Canadian i.e. polyorchnid octopunch
A Ghost To Most
A portion of a favorite song, The Living Bubba, would seem to fit:
Steeplejack
@raven:
Hey, remind the princess that Daylight Saving Time starts at 1:00 a.m. Sunday in Britain!
SiubhanDuinne
@Steeplejack:
So Gammyjill and i are tied for bronze?
SiubhanDuinne
@polyorchnid octopunch:
Didn’t know you were Cdn. Where in Cda, if you don’t mind my asking?
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
Also PurpleGirl, who lived in an apartment tower in New York (Brooklyn or Queens?).
something fabulous
De-lurking again just to add to the rest that I am so amazed this community is so able to support and remember its own, and so sad that/when we need to. EFG, you will be missed by commenters and lurkers alike; your memory not only will be but already is a blessing. Love to your beloved family, on and offline.
Citizen Scientist
Thanks Siubhan and Adam. I really do miss EFG’s voice around here.
At least we have his eternal phrase to guide us on.
White light EFG and family.
polyorchnid octopunch
@polyorchnid octopunch: oh, and if any of you want to know what I look like, I’m the guy with the acoustic guitar in hand laughing and clapping in this shot right here: https://www.joesmill.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/P1130473-e1461948677800.jpg
polyorchnid octopunch
@SiubhanDuinne: Kingston Ontario.
SiubhanDuinne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Baud’s on walkabout somewhere. He’ll come back when he’s good and ready. I miss Baud, but I don’t worry about him.
polyorchnid octopunch
@something fabulous: EFG was properly acerbic when it was required. That is all.
I’ll add that that’s high fuckin’ praise from me.
SiubhanDuinne
@polyorchnid octopunch:
Queen’s? I know (or at least knew) plenty of people from Queen’s.
My family are up on the Georgian Bay. Hoping to drive up for a visit later this summer.
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
The records are, uh, incomplete.
Gammyjill was in this thread earlier. Maybe she’ll swing back around.
And there’s another Granny[something] commenter, I think in Minnesota, who might be about your age.
A Ghost To Most
@polyorchnid octopunch:
I did not see that coming. My beard is in awe.
Ruckus
@SiubhanDuinne:
Higgs Boson’s Mate
dance around in your bones
JenJen
Just some of the names I don’t see or don’t see very often anymore.
It’s been long enough now that I don’t even remember when I showed up here but I’d bet it’s 10 yrs or so.
chris
@polyorchnid octopunch: Haven’t been there in 20 years but Kingston has always been one of my favorite towns. My nephew is thinking of moving there on my recommendation.
chris
@Steeplejack: LadyraxterinOK (?) is up there too.
Steeplejack
@chris:
Noted at #154.
Steve in the ATL
@raven: my sister in law just had a baby and named him Bodhi. Mother in law is not amused.
Steve in the ATL
@Steeplejack: indeed, though it turns out that Indiana spring break started today
NotMax
@Steve in the ATL
Expect it was autocorrect which misspelled mayoplex.
;)
Steeplejack
@Steve in the ATL:
So it turns out they’re not so much flying to Atlanta as just getting the hell out of Indiana.
eemom
The guy who made the tacky ass caricatures of famous people; had a series of names including some kitchen implement. Was a tad on the obnoxious side.
The guy who moved to S. Korea….Morzer.
Sarah Proud and Tall!
Handsmile, a nice gentleman who lived in NYC.
Another guy who went by a series of names….Hat on My Cat, Angus, the God of Beef. I was actually friends with him on FB for a while until he pissed me off. He was in a relationship with a woman he met here; they were living together last I heard.
And yes, the immortal little toko-loko.
Good times.
chris
@Steeplejack: Damn, my eyes are getting old.
Steeplejack
@eemom:
I left out the stalker whose nym was not “small footwear” because I didn’t want to trigger Omnes. Probably could have just played “Dancing in the Moonlight.”
NotMax
@eemom
Also too,
Purple Girl
Asiangrrl
Soonergrunt
Steve in the ATL
@Steeplejack: which means they’re smarter than I thought
@NotMax: ha!
@eemom:
Balloon Juice is the new Grindr. Er, Tinder.
Bill Arnold
@Steeplejack:
Matoko-chan was fun. (She(?) once asked if I “was a conservative” – mind did a few (meta)loops thinking about that question. The answer, roughly; small-c dictionary-definition conservatism is a form of risk management. Now, I’m quite willing to stir up the chaos.)
I came here roughly 2006/2007; not sure if lurked first. Had been frequenting/commenting on right wing blogs (e.g. Just One Minute) learning how to argue against conservatives and wingnuts in the GWBush administration and this place was a welcome mix of ages, politics, nationalities, genders, with a flat comment section (yay!) and decent community-driven troll-control.
efgoldman I will miss.
Lurker Dan
Delurking to pay respects to Mr Ross/efgoldman. His voice will be missed.
The last time I delurked was for Schlemazel, another voice silenced too early. Wherever they are now, a waiter has spilled the soup on Schlemazel and efg intones, with perfect pitch and timing, “fuckem.”
polyorchnid octopunch
@SiubhanDuinne: Yeah, Queen’s is in Kingston. I’ve gone there a few times myself; phil in the nineties and CS in the oughts. That said, I’m a Kingston guy, not a Queen’s guy, if you follow what I mean.
There’s some beautiful country up by the Georgian Bay. Been up there myself, but not for many years; it’s a long way away from me. If it’s summertime, go get yourself up in Killarney Park: it’s amazing.
polyorchnid octopunch
@A Ghost To Most: Just a dirty fuckin’ hippie, that’s me.
Should add that Never Mind the Bollocks came out when I was ten, so I got an early inoculation against becoming the kind of person about whom it was said “never trust a hippie.”
polyorchnid octopunch
@NotMax: I still yak with asiangrrl from time to time on twitter.
satby
So many names out of the past! I wandered over here from Atrios’ place when he called Cole “a reasonable conservative” or something like that and my reaction was ” this I have to see”. So before John went from Republican to Independent, then to Democrat. I lurked for years before starting to comment occasionally in the run-up to the 2008 election, don’t really remember exactly when. Some of our former commenters are on Twitter now, like Sooner and Zandar. But it would be great to see more of them back here again occasionally.
Odie Hugh Manatee
A couple of other good people from the past; Thymezone and Rome Again. Oh, and a shithead; myiq2xu (aka: GoatBoy!).
Steeplejack
@NotMax:
The latter two didn’t really disappear, because we know where they went. WaterGirl I worry/wonder about sometimes; I got the feeling somehow that her situation was precarious, mentally and/or financially.
SiubhanDuinne
@polyorchnid octopunch:
Cousins live in Owen Sound. They’ve been to Killarney Provincial Park; I never have been. Looks gorgeous.
SiubhanDuinne
@Ruckus:
RedKitten (she’s a FB friend, but I rarely look at FB these days).
SiubhanDuinne
@eemom:
Dance Around in Your Bones?
Gammyjill
@Steeplejack: I’m 68, born in 1951. A proud Truman-baby.
Steeplejack
@Gammyjill:
Noted. Birthday?
eemom
@Odie Hugh Manatee:
Thymezone and Rome Again are the couple I was talking about.
J R in WV
@piratedan:
Brilliant!! I second, or third, or however many got in ahead of me.
eemom
@Steeplejack:
Aw, wasn’t he just the saddest little stalker ever? Did he end up getting the boot (haw haw) because he creeped O out so much?
J R in WV
@Another Scott:
Thanks for that link — EFG was hilarious in that thread. Emily Dickenson Poems can be sung to the tune of Gilligan’s Island theme!!! OMG LOL!
And General Stuck shining, also too.
Hope the new B-J let’s us look that stuff up!!
J R in WV
@Mr Stagger Lee:
Our public station used to have classical music from when the talking ended in the early evening until 5 am when BBC news aired. Now they have one canned show from 10 am til noon, and their own broadcast from noon til 2 pm. That’s it.
I called and asked, it cost $20K for all night classical, and they already paid for BBC, so now it’s BBC World News all night for onelowlowprice. Makes it hard to make that sustaining contribution every month!!!!
J R in WV
@Steve in the ATL:
They have an airport in Indiana-no-place??? I thought they would think it was demonology!!!
Steeplejack
@eemom:
He finally got struck off after he called someone a cunt.
J R in WV
@polyorchnid octopunch:
Oh my Dawg, you look like, well, 6 or 7 of my neighbors! Would be me too, but I’m way greyer (whiter, actually) bearded than you.
Ruckus
@polyorchnid octopunch:
We used to look enough alike to be brothers. When I had hair on my head and beard wasn’t mostly white and I wore glasses. Other than that….. And that was about a hundred years ago. It’s possible that it just feels like a hundred years some days.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
Just wanted to say, you’ll be missed, EF. I really enjoyed all the times we talked. RIP
polyorchnid octopunch
@SiubhanDuinne: Killarney is incredible and if you like canoe tripping you should go.
polyorchnid octopunch
@J R in WV: @Ruckus: Yeah hear you there… I’m a little greyer now than I was in that pic, and a little thicker in the middle. Still playing though. And one thing about getting old… it sure beats the alternative.
Laura Too
What a wonderful place. Something about late night radio hosts-this place attracts them. Mark (Schlamazel)
did his stint back in the day. I would love to see a memorial page in the new BJ iteration. I love seeing peoples memories of him, keeps him alive for me. I will miss EFG comments as well. Best to all.